Gender-neutral language

The notion that parts of the English language were sexist was brought to mainstream attention in Western English cultures by feminists in the 1970s.{{Cite journal|last=Blaubergs|first=Maija S.|date=1980-01-01|title=An analysis of classic arguments against changing sexist language|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148068580920710|journal=Women's Studies International Quarterly|series=The voices and words of women and men|language=en|volume=3|issue=2|pages=135–147|doi=10.1016/S0148-0685(80)92071-0|issn=0148-0685|via=|url-access=subscription}} Simultaneously, the link between language and ideologies (including traditional gender ideologies) was becoming apparent in the academic field of linguistics.{{Cite book|last1=Mills|first1=Sarah|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/500783823|title=Language, gender and feminism : theory, methodology and practice|last2=Mullany|first2=Louise|date=2011|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-48595-1|location=Abingdon, Oxon|pages=135|oclc=500783823}} In 1975, the National Council of Teachers of English published a set of guidelines on the use of "non-sexist" language.{{Cite web|title=Statement on Gender and Language|url=https://ncte.org/statement/genderfairuseoflang/|access-date=2021-01-30|website=NCTE|date=25 October 2018 |language=en-US}}{{Cite journal|last1=Alter|first1=Lance|last2=Rutherford|first2=Millicent|date=1976|title=Forum: Do the NCTE Guidelines on Non-Sexist Use of Language Serve a Positive Purpose?|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/815740|journal=The English Journal|volume=65|issue=9|pages=10–13|doi=10.2307/815740|jstor=815740|issn=0013-8274|url-access=subscription}} Backlash ensued, as did the debate on whether gender-neutral language ought to be enforced. In Britain, feminist Maija Blaubergs' countered eight commonly used oppositional arguments in 1980.{{Cite journal|last=Blaubergs|first=Maija S.|date=1980-01-01|title=An analysis of classic arguments against changing sexist language|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148068580920710|journal=Women's Studies International Quarterly|series=The voices and words of women and men|language=en|volume=3|issue=2|pages=138|doi=10.1016/S0148-0685(80)92071-0|issn=0148-0685|via=|url-access=subscription}} In 1983, New South Wales, Australia required the use of they in place of he and she in subsequent laws.{{Cite journal|last1=Newman|first1=Benjamin J.|last2=DeMora|first2=Stephanie L.|last3=Reny|first3=Tyler T.|date=2020|title=Female Empowerment and the Politics of Language: Evidence Using Gender-Neutral Amendments to Subnational Constitutions|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-political-science/article/female-empowerment-and-the-politics-of-language-evidence-using-genderneutral-amendments-to-subnational-constitutions/C0B55784FAD76FA80E4510E8CBD91138|journal=British Journal of Political Science|language=en|volume=51|issue=4 |pages=1761–1772|doi=10.1017/S0007123420000332|s2cid=225425815 |issn=0007-1234|via=|url-access=subscription}} In 1985, the Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion passed a motion for all its ensuing publications to include "non-sexist" language.{{Cite journal|last=Milne|first=Pamela J.|date=2016-06-25|title=Women and words: The use of non-sexist, inclusive language in the Academy|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/000842988901800103|journal=Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses|language=en|volume=18|issue=1|pages=25–35|doi=10.1177/000842988901800103|s2cid=152272667|via=|url-access=subscription}} By 1995, academic institutions in Canada and Britain had implemented "non-sexist" language policies.{{Cite journal|last=Milne|first=Pamela J.|date=2016-06-25|title=Women and words: The use of non-sexist, inclusive language in the Academy|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/000842988901800103|journal=Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses|language=en|volume=18|issue=1|pages=33–4|doi=10.1177/000842988901800103|s2cid=152272667|via=|url-access=subscription}} More recently, revisions to the Women's Press publications of The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing and The A–Z of Non-Sexist Language were made to de-radicalize the original works.{{Cite book|last=Cameron|first=Deborah|title=On Language and Sexual Politics|publisher=Routledge|year=2006|isbn=9780203715369|location=London and New York|pages=20}} In 2006, "non-sexist" was challenged: the term refers solely to the absence of sexism. In 2018, the State of New York enacted policy to formally use the gender-neutral terms police officer and firefighter.File:Sign explaining inclusive language in spanish.jpg at a feminist protest in Madrid, Spain]]

{{globalize|section|English language|date=November 2023}}

Historically, the use of masculine pronouns in place of generic was regarded as non-sexist, but various forms of gender-neutral language have become a common feature in written and spoken versions of many languages in the late twentieth century. Feminists argue that previously the practice of assigning masculine gender to generic antecedents stemmed from language reflecting "the prejudices of the society in which it evolved, and English evolved through most of its history in a male-centered, patriarchal society."{{cite web|url=https://www2.stetson.edu/secure/history/hy10302/nongenderlang.html |title=Some Notes on Gender-Neutral Language |access-date=April 16, 2012 |author=Carolyn Jacobson |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714235019/https://www2.stetson.edu/secure/history/hy10302/nongenderlang.html |archive-date=July 14, 2014 }} During the 1970s, feminists Casey Miller and Kate Swift created a manual, The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing, on gender neutral language that was set to reform the existing sexist language that was said to exclude and dehumanize women.{{Cite web|title = Gender neutral language - Nonbinary.org|url = http://nonbinary.org/wiki/Gender_neutral_language#cite_note-2|website = nonbinary.org|access-date = 2015-11-25|archive-date = 2015-11-25|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151125174805/http://nonbinary.org/wiki/Gender_neutral_language#cite_note-2|url-status = dead}} In 1995, the Women's Press published The A–Z of Non-Sexist Language, by Margaret Doyle.{{Cite book|last=Cameron|first=Deborah|title=On Language and Sexual Politics|publisher=Routledge|year=2006|isbn=9780203715369|location=London and New York|pages=21}} Both publications were written by American authors, originally without the consideration of the British-English dialect. Many feminist efforts were made to reform the androcentric language.{{Cite journal|title = The Use and Evolution of Gender Neutral Language in an Intentional Community|last = Flanagan|first = J.|date = March 1, 2013|journal = Women & Gender}} It has become common in some academic and governmental settings to rely on gender-neutral language to convey inclusion of all sexes or genders (gender-inclusive language).{{cite web | url=http://www.gb.uni-koeln.de/gleichstellung_an_der_universitaet/gendersensible_sprache/index_ger.html | title=Leitfaden der Gleichstellungsbeauftragten zur geschlechtersensiblen und inklusiven Sprache | publisher=Gleichstellungsbeauftragte an der Universität zu Köln | date=21 January 2014 | access-date=9 August 2015 | language=de | archive-date=22 December 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222092018/http://www.gb.uni-koeln.de/gleichstellung_an_der_universitaet/gendersensible_sprache/index_ger.html | url-status=dead }}{{cite web | url=http://www.marquette.edu/wac/neutral/NeutralInclusiveLanguage.shtml | title=Tips for Using Inclusive, Gender Neutral Language | publisher=Marquette University | access-date=April 16, 2012}}

Various languages employ different means to achieve gender neutrality:

• Gender neutrality in languages with grammatical gender
• Gender neutrality in genderless languages
• Gender neutrality in English

Other particular issues are also discussed:

• Gender marking in job titles
• Gender-specific and gender-neutral pronouns

There are different approaches in forming a "gender-neutral language":

• Neutralising any reference to gender or sex, like using "they" as a third-person singular pronoun instead of "he" or "she", and proscribing words like actress (female actor) and prescribing the use of words like actor for persons of any gender. Although it has generally been accepted in the English language, some argue that using "they" as a singular pronoun is considered grammatically incorrect, but acceptable in informal writing.{{Cite web|title=Gender Neutral Language in Writing|url=http://www.skillsyouneed.com/write/gender-neutral-language.html|access-date=2015-10-22|website=www.skillsyouneed.com}}
• Creating alternative gender-neutral pronouns, such as "hir" or "hen" in Swedish.{{Cite journal|last1=Gustafsson Sendén|first1=Marie|last2=Bäck|first2=Emma A.|last3=Lindqvist|first3=Anna|date=2015|title=Introducing a gender-neutral pronoun in a natural gender language: the influence of time on attitudes and behavior|journal=Frontiers in Psychology|language=English|volume=6|page=893|doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00893|issn=1664-1078|pmc=4486751|pmid=26191016|doi-access=free}}
• Indicating the gender by using wordings like "he or she" and "actors and actresses".
• Avoiding the use of "him/her" or the third-person singular pronoun "they" by using "the" or restructuring the sentence all together to avoid all three.

• NASA now prefers the use of "crewed" and "uncrewed" instead of "manned" and "unmanned", including when discussing historical spaceflight (except proper nouns).{{cite web |title=Style Guide for NASA History Authors and Editors |url=https://history.nasa.gov/styleguide.html |access-date=2019-11-02}}
• Terms such as "pregnant person" and "birthing person" in lieu of "pregnant woman" and "mother" have become more widespread.

{{expand section|date=February 2021}}

Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires, implemented a policy in June 2022 that forbade public educational institutions from using gender-neutral language on the basis that gender-neutral language is grammatically incorrect and causes developmental learning issues for students.{{Cite news |last=Lankes |first=Ana |date=2022-07-20 |title=In Argentina, One of the World's First Bans on Gender-Neutral Language |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/20/world/americas/argentina-gender-neutral-spanish.html |access-date=2022-10-13 |issn=0362-4331}} In the Spanish language nouns are either feminine (usually ending in "a") or masculine (usually ending in "o"), but in recent years gender-neutral endings like "x" and "e" have gained popularity; for example, "Latinx" or "Latine" have become the gender-neutral options for the previously binary "Latino" or "Latina."{{Cite news |title=A New Effort In Argentina Seeks To Make Spanish Nouns Gender Neutral |language=en |work=NPR.org |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/12/08/786135746/a-new-effort-in-argentina-seeks-to-make-spanish-nouns-gender-neutral |access-date=2022-11-25}} Buenos Aires' objection to gender-neutral language in the classroom stems from concerns about linguistic correctness and preservation of the Spanish language. Those who support the development of gender-neutral language have expressed frustration with the male-dominance of the Spanish language: a group of students who are all female is "compañeras," but if one male student enters the group, the grammatically correct term for the students becomes "compañeros" with the masculine "o" ending.

University of Toronto psychology professor Jordan Peterson uploaded a video to YouTube expressing his opposition to Bill C-16 – An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code, a bill introduced by Justin Trudeau's government, in October 2016.{{Cite journal|last=Airton|first=Lee|date=2018-08-18|title=The de/politicization of pronouns: implications of the No Big Deal Campaign for gender-expansive educational policy and practice|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09540253.2018.1483489|journal=Gender and Education|language=en|volume=30|issue=6|pages=790–810|doi=10.1080/09540253.2018.1483489|s2cid=149592656|issn=0954-0253|url-access=subscription}} The proposed piece of legislation was to add the terms "gender identity" and "gender expression" to the Canadian Human Rights Act and to the Criminal Code's hate crimes provisions. In the video, Peterson argued that legal protection of gender pronouns results in "compelled speech", which would violate the right to freedom of expression outlined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In the view of Peterson, legal pronoun protections would force an individual to say something that one opposes. The bill passed in the House of Commons and in the Senate, becoming law once it received Royal Assent on 19 June 2017.{{Cite journal|last1=Kirkup|first1=Kyle|last2=Airton|first2=Lee|last3=McMillan|first3=Allison|last4=DesRochers|first4=Jacob|date=August 2020|title=The Aftermath of Human Rights Protections: Gender Identity, Gender Expression, and the Socio-Legal Regulation of School Boards|journal=Canadian Journal of Law and Society |volume=35|issue=2|pages=245–268|doi=10.1017/cls.2020.7|s2cid=225303461|issn=0829-3201|doi-access=free}} In response to the passing of the bill, Peterson has stated he will not use gender-neutral pronouns if asked in the classroom by a student.

In 2021, controversy spiked in France when the dictionary Petit Robert included the gender neutral term {{lang|fr|iel}} – composed of {{lang|fr|il}} ('he') and {{lang|fr|elle}} ('she'). The dictionary's director, Charles Bimbenet, stated it was added as researchers noted "an increasing usage" of the neutral pronoun in "a large body of texts drawn from various sources."{{Cite news |title=A French dictionary added a gender-neutral pronoun. Opponents say it's too 'woke.' |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/11/18/iel-petit-robert-gender-neutral-woke/ |access-date=2023-04-27 |issn=0190-8286}} However, a number of French politicians have opposed the new addition.

Jean-Michel Blanquer, the French Minister of Education, publicly tweeted: "inclusive writing is not the future of the French language."{{Cite web |last=Wagener |first=Albin |title=No need to 'iel': why France is so angry about a gender-neutral pronoun |url=http://theconversation.com/no-need-to-iel-why-france-is-so-angry-about-a-gender-neutral-pronoun-173304 |access-date=2023-04-27 |website=The Conversation |date=8 December 2021 |language=en}} Similarly, François Jolivet, a French politician, accused the dictionary of pushing a "woke" ideology that "undermines [their] common language and its influence", in a letter addressed to the Académie Française.{{Cite web |title=New word "iel", a combination of he and she, added to French dictionary ignites fierce debate |url=https://www.9news.com.au/world/sparks-fly-as-neutral-pronoun-included-in-french-dictionary/aa8f205f-d10e-4c6a-a413-4f4bbb83435b |access-date=2023-04-27 |website=www.9news.com.au|date=20 November 2021 }} The controversy weighs into the ongoing debate regarding masculine dominance in the French language.

The Italian language contains grammatical gender where nouns are either masculine or feminine with corresponding gendered pronouns, which differs from English in that nouns do not encode grammatical gender.{{Cite web |title=Language, gender and sexism: an overview on English and Italian languages |url=https://thesis.unipd.it/handle/20.500.12608/11554 |access-date=2022-10-26 |website=thesis.unipd.it}} For example, "tavola" (in English table) in Italian is feminine. Developing a gender-neutral option in Italian is linguistically challenging because the Italian language marks only the masculine and feminine grammatical genders: "friends" in Italian is either "amici" or "amiche" where the masculine "-i" pluralized ending is used as an all-encompassing term, and "amiche" with the feminine "-e" pluralized ending refers specifically to a group of female friends. Italian linguistically derived from Latin, which does contain a third "neuter" or neutral option.

The use of a schwa <ə> has been suggested to create an Italian gender-neutral language option.{{Cite web |title=Un asterisco sul genere - Consulenza Linguistica - Accademia della Crusca |url=https://accademiadellacrusca.it/it/consulenza/un-asterisco-sul-genere/4018 |access-date=2022-10-26 |website=accademiadellacrusca.it}} Some Italian linguists have signed a petition opposing the use of the schwa on the basis it is not linguistically correct.{{Cite journal |last=Catarinella, P., Malek, M. R. A., Kram, S., & Ridzuan, M. U. M. |date=2022 |title=The "Schwa" and its Impact on Italian Language and Society |url=https://hrmars.com/papers_submitted/15021/the-schwa-and-its-impact-on-italian-language-and-society.pdf |journal=International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences |volume=12 |issue=10 |pages=1978–1997}} Other solutions proposed are the asterisk <*>, the , the at sign <@>, the and omitting gender-specific suffixes altogether.{{Cite journal |last=Kenda |first=Jana |date=Dec 23, 2022 |title=Inclusive Grammar in Italian: Linguistic Alternatives and Public Opinion |journal=Linguistica |issue=62 |pages=214 |doi=10.4312/linguistica.62.1-2.205-222 |s2cid=256169781 |doi-access=free }}

The American English language contains gendered connotations that make it challenging for gender-neutral language to achieve the desired linguistic equality. "Male default" is especially prominent in the United States and often when gender-neutral language is used around traditionally male institutions, the neutrality does not prevent people from automatically translating "they" to the default "he."{{Cite journal |last=Atir |first=Stav |date=2022-08-01 |title=Girlboss? Highlighting versus downplaying gender through language |journal=Trends in Cognitive Sciences |language=English |volume=26 |issue=8 |pages=623–625 |doi=10.1016/j.tics.2022.05.001 |issn=1364-6613 |pmid=35697650|s2cid=249537087 |doi-access=free }}

The Supreme Court of the Philippines in a 16-page judgment promulgated in October 2023, reminded "judicial officers to be circumspect in their language after it observed that both the judge and prosecutor in the case used nongender-fair language. Together, the foregoing reinforces the trope that women are out to entrap men into marriage. The disparaging language shifts the blame on the woman for marrying the unfaithful man after getting pregnant as if society did not stigmatize single mothers,” Acting Chief Justice Marvic Leonen held.{{cite news |last1= Bautista|first1=Jane |title=SC reminds judges, lawyers of gender-fair language rule|url= https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1916336/sc-reminds-judges-lawyers-of-gender-fair-language-rule|accessdate=March 8, 2024 |publisher=Philippine Daily Inquirer |date=March 9, 2024}}

• Gender neutrality in languages with grammatical gender
• Gender neutrality in English
• Gender neutrality in Spanish
• Gender neutrality in Portuguese
• Gender star

• Bias-free communication
• Epicenity
• Gender in Bible translation
• Gender binary
• Gender neutrality
• Gender role
• Genderless language
• Generic antecedent
• Inclusive language
• International Gender and Language Association, an interdisciplinary academic organization
• Markedness
• Non-binary gender
• Unisex name
• Gender neutrality in languages with gendered third-person pronouns
• Pronoun game
• Feminist language reform
• Lavender linguistics
• Gender marking in job titles

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